We were introduced to Tigger through her artist daughter, Charlotte. Tigger lived in London’s trendy Hackney neighbourhood way before people ponced around with rolled- up jeans, pink socks, take-away coffees and Danish buns. Her house was modest and cosy with loads of books, African artefacts and a neat line of framed photos of each of her 16 grandchildren in the hall.
We went to visit Tigger for an introductory cup of tea and ginger biscuit. It was a little awkward; we were nervous. Tigger wasn’t sure. She kept saying, ‘But I haven’t had a career and I just improvise with whatever food I happen to have available.’ We sat on the sofa, Tigger opposite in a chair. Within the hour, slightly over the tea limit, something clicked and we ended up squeezed together on the sofa with a photo album, Tigger exclaiming, ‘It’s like we’re on a bus!’. We set a date for two weeks later.
Tigger had painted the wall behind her white Aga a deep Yves Klein blue. She told nearly all her stories leaning against it, reboiling the kettle for more tea. Iska had a pink wig with her for a party that evening. At some moment it felt right that Tigger should try it on, and so she stood, reciting stories with such sincerity, with a bright pink bob.
Feeds 4–6
Takes 50 minutes, plus marinating time
Ingredients
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
8 chicken thighs (Tigger prefers skinless for this dish)
5 whole cloves
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
5 whole cloves
8 chicken thighs (Tigger prefers skinless for this dish)
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4cm ginger, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped
zest of ½ lemon
500ml chicken stock
2 red peppers, roughly chopped into large pieces
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter (with no added sugar)
Method
Grind the coriander and cumin in a pestle and mortar. Put the chicken in a bowl with the coriander and cumin, cloves and and pour the yoghurt, over, adding the cloves and rubbing to make sure all the meat is coated. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
When the chicken has almost had long enough in the marinade, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and add the onion to soften for 5 minutes, followed by the ginger, garlic and chilli. Continue to cook for 3 minutes, until the aromas release.
Add the chicken to sear all over, then add the lemon zest and chicken stock and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes.
Next add the red peppers and peanut butter. Stir and cook for a final 10 minutes.
Check for seasoning before serving with fluffy basmati rice boiled with a couple of cardamom pods.
